Beryl, Breakdowns, Beauty and the Bates family - Day 12

[Nimbus]

Previously...
Pre-Trip
Day One - The Journey There
Day Two - Around the World at Epcot
Day Three - Swimming and Shopping
Day Four - Soggy at Seaworld
Day Five - Hollywood Studios
Day Six - Manic Magic Kingdom
Day Seven - Islands of Adventure
Day Eight - Wet at Universal Studios
Day Nine - More Splashing and Shopping
Day Ten - Sunny at Seaworld
Day Eleven - Back to the Future World

Day Twelve - Tuesday 5th June 2012 – Animal Kingdom

Only one park on our list that we hadn't yet visited and that was Animal Kingdom. So the plan today was to hop on the early shuttle bus to Epcot and then get Disney transport from Epcot to Animal Kingdom. We were also considering eating dinner (posh tea) at the Rainforest Cafe later.

When we got to Epcot, it took a little while to find the bus stop for the Animal Kingdom bus and then we seemed to wait quite a while before one finally arrived. Eventually though, we were on our way and soon at the entrance:



As you can see, there was quite a crowd heading to this park today. This was about 9:15am or so. Oh, and this morning it was dry but cloudy, hot and very humid.

Before entering the park we stopped off at the Rainforest Cafe to make a reservation. Unfortunately, they didn't allow reservations to be made later in the day but did say that they would get us seated when we came back. Well, yeah, I'm sure they would - after an hour-long wait or something.

Inside the park we made our way up towards the central hub near the Tree of Life, looking at the animals along the side of the pathway as we went. Such as these ones:



This time Hannah wanted to go on a more intense rollercoaster and, after I'd been on it last time, I had suggested Expedition Everest. It doesn't go upside-down nor does it have a huge drop but it has more thrills than, say, Big Thunder Mountain. Hannah was therefore eager to sample this ride and so we progressed anti-clockwise around the Big Tree, making our way towards EE. However, on our way we spotted Dug and Russell from Up! Hannah and Michelle wanted to meet these characters and so they joined the long queue whilst I went and got fastpass tickets for Everest.

Everest was surprisingly far away and it took me awhile to dodge through the various people milling around but I soon had some fastpasses for about an hour's time.

When I got back to Hannah and Michelle they were still in the queue to see Dug and Russell. This must've been one of the longest times we waited for characters (not that I waited for very long). Anyway, it meant that I could get on the photo too:



I'm not sure where Russell is putting his hand! Note the patriotic t-shirts celebrating the Diamond Jubilee.

Because we had some time before the Everest fastpasses were valid, we started to wander into the nearby DinoLand area. On the way, a cast member was directing people towards a Winnie-the-Pooh meet'n'great down a side pathway on the right. We followed this path - which turned out to longer than we envisaged - and eventually came to a small, covered area with Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger:







As you can see, I decided not to have my picture taken in these.

We then carried on into DinoLand. We briefly looked around until Hannah said she really wanted to go on Primeval Whirl. So, we joined the 10 minute queue for that.



It was surprisingly sunny and hot at this point - hence the squints. We like Primeval Whirl quite a lot. It starts off like a Wild Mouse type coaster with a few dips and sudden changes in direction but near the end the car is allowed to spin a little to add to the "excitement". It doesn't spin much though - certainly not enough to make you dizzy. Of course, once we'd been on once, Hannah was eager to go on again. As the queue was reasonably short, we agreed.

After the second time on the coaster, we strolled away from DinoLand and went to use our fastpasses on Expedition Everest. This ride still gets to me during the backwards bit. I love the rest, but when it turns in a tight loop backwards it makes my stomach feel a bit strange. Hannah and Michelle both seemed to like it, although I don't think Hannah was too sure. She wasn't eager to go on again.

As we walked away from Everest and tried to find somewhere inside to sit down, the heat and humidity started to get to me. I came over all hot and bothered. So we browsed in an air-conditioned shop. Then Michelle went off to get some fastpasses for the Kilimanjaro Safari whilst I stayed in the shop and drank a whole bottle of water.

Whilst waiting for our turn on the safari, we had time to look around the nearby Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. We've been through this before but there was still things that we didn't remember. For instance, we hadn't seen any hippos before but saw some this time. Anyway, here's a photo of an okapi's bottom:



The excellent gorilla enclosure was also different to how we remembered it. We couldn’t recall seeing gorillas before.



You could get some great views of the powerful apes. These animal trails are highly recommended.

For lunch, we strode out of Africa and to Pizzafari where, unsurprisingly, we had pizza for lunch. Very nice it was too. The theming in here is actually quite impressive. It’s very colourful and bright, with murals all over the walls.



As you might be able to see from the above photo, they even have bats hanging from the ceiling, plus the lights, pillars and beams are decorated with animal figurines.

By now, it was time to use our safari fastpasses. Plus, Beryl was back so it had also started to rain slightly. We queued for a short while to get into our truck, hoping it wasn’t going to pour it down. Thankfully, it didn’t and we got to see a few animals:



The rear of some sort of antelope and a nice shot of a giraffe (with added wildebeests):



Sadly, they’ve ditched the old “Little Red” story line from this “ride” so it’s now just a sight-seeing trip around the safari park. Sort of like Knowsley Safari Park but with someone else driving, warmer weather and a lack of Scouse accents.

Michelle was eager to see the Lion King show so from here we headed into the Camp Minnie Mickey area. As we arrived we just missed one showing and so, whilst we waited, Hannah met some of the characters in this area. There wasn’t much of a queue for Donald Duck - although we did have a short wait to let Donald go and have a brief drink and cool off from the humid weather.



Eek! Run away from the big 5-foot tall duck wearing no pants!

Time for an afternoon snack. Hannah had an ice cream whilst I finally managed to sample a funnel cake. I’d heard good things about these (mainly from blusteryday) and, yep, it didn’t disappoint. It's sort of like a deformed doughnut smothered in powdered sugar.

Unfortunately, at about this time, the heavens opened and it started to throw it down. We huddled under a parasol near a kiosk whilst we ate our yummy snacks and struggled into our ponchos. Then, at about 3pm, we joined the queue for the Lion King show. Thankfully, at about 3:15pm they started letting us into the theatre and out of the rain.



We all really like the Lion King (Michelle especially) – it’s the awe-inspiring music that elevates it above most other Disney films. This show is equally excellent, with fire-breathers, acrobats and lots of music.



When we exited from the Lion King and walked towards the central hub, we happened across the parade, which was lucky. We thought we’d missed it. The rain had stopped by now, so we stood behind the crowds and watched as the procession went past.



Following the parade as it moved anti-clockwise around the park (not the best idea due to the crowds), we walked back into the DinoLand USA area that we’d briefly visited earlier.



Some people seem to think this Chester and Hester’s part of Animal Kingdom is poorly themed. However, I like it. It’s supposed to look like a 50s American fun fair that has grown up at the side of the highway near to the Dino Institute. And, indeed, Disney has created a what looks like a small highway with signs near the entrance leading to the “fun fair” part. Primeval Whirl is Chester’s and Hester’s less impressive version of DINOSAUR where, at the top of the first hill lift, the swirling time vortex spins you back into the prehistoric past. It appears a bit tatty and tacky but it’s supposed to look like that.

Talking of Primeval Whirl, Hannah wanted to go on this coaster again but the queue was somewhat longer now. Instead, we obtained fastpasses for this and then went to play in the Boneyard playground whilst we waited.

I’m not sure why but the slides in this playground were not at all slidey, which sort of hampered things a little. Still, Hannah and I had a bit of fun in here and then we clambered over the skeletal bridge to the dinosaur dig area.



The timing of that photo wasn’t very good – Hannah just happened to move as I took it and hence why she looks a bit blurred whereas everything else is perfectly in focus.

After 45 minutes or so playing around in here, it was time to use our Primeval Whirl fastpasses. Of course, the standby queue had reduced down to about 10 minutes now! Again, this was a great, spinny, dippy ride.

Noticing that the Finding Nemo: the Musical show was due to start in a few minutes, we hustled out of DinoLand and to the nearby theatre. Thank goodness for the dry air-conditioning which gave us a break from the humidity outside.

Like the Lion King show, this is a great performance - especially the huge seagull. However, because the original film doesn’t feature any songs, I'm afraid the music composed for this show isn’t particularly awe inspiring and kinda forgettable.



For tea, we decided against trying out the Rainforest Cafe after all. I think it was because it was late and we couldn’t guarantee we’d get a table, eat and be out in time. So instead, we ate in the nearby Restaurantosaurus, which is no longer a McDonald's restaurant.

I had the grilled vegetable sub and sweet potato fries. Unfortunately, I can’t remember what Michelle and Hannah had. My veggie sub - plus additional extras from the toppings bar - was excellent and very yummy. Although there were very few people in here, and the queue was very short, it seemed to take the staff a long time to get our food together.



Just like Pizzafari, the theming in this quick service restaurant is superbly done. It looks like an old hunting lodge and has (fake) dinosaur fossils hanging on the walls and over the fireplace plus lots of dino memorabilia around the room.

After finishing our dinner, we wandered back through the park to the entrance, saying goodbye to the animals as we went. Upon leaving the park, it began to rain and so we rushed to the bus stop to get a Disney bus back to Epcot. However, because it was near closing time for the park, a lot of other people had the same idea. The queue for the next Epcot bus was very long. It didn’t help when the bus driver took absolutely ages to load on a disabled visitor in a motor scooter. I know they had to make sure the scooter was secure but it seemed like the guy didn’t know what the heck he was doing! And, by now, we were getting very close to missing our shuttle bus back to our hotel.

As the Disney bus eventually made it’s way to Epcot, it felt like the driver was going at 3 miles an hour. At times, it was just crawling along – we could’ve walked faster. When the bus finally did arrive at Epcot, we leapt out and recklessly dashed (well, jogged) across the parking lot. I’m afraid to say we ignored the official crosswalks!

Thankfully, with seconds to spare, we managed to catch our shuttle bus. It was a close run thing though. The bus was reasonably full but we managed to get seats, which was a good thing after all that jogging.

After the usual 25 minute journey, we arrived back at the Homewood at about 9pm. It had been a hot and humid day and, despite the rain, we'd had another enjoyable Disney day.

Food Score: 8/10. The grilled vegetable sub was very nice and so was the theming in the restaurants. Extra points for the funnel cake!

Favourite Attraction: It has to be Primeval Hurl, I mean Whirl.

Next…
Day Thirteen - A Day Off or Universal?

[blusteryday]

Great trippie Steve...welcome to the funnel cake club

[anniebee65]

Great day! I looooooooooooather Primeval Hurl, and my children know this, therefore they are constantly on a mission to get me on it!

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by blusteryday

Great trippie Steve...welcome to the funnel cake club

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Thanks Rob. Not sure how I've missed funnel cakes before. It was mainly due to your recommendation on the DIBBCast (and elsewhere) that I decided to rectify that omission. I'm glad I did!

Originally Posted by anniebee65

Great day! I looooooooooooather Primeval Hurl, and my children know this, therefore they are constantly on a mission to get me on it!

See more...

Primeval Whirl isn't as bad as it looks. It spins less than the Mad Hatter's Tea Party or Cat in the Hat. I like the fact that you never know which way you'll be facing when you get to the last (smallish) drop.

[disney owl]

another good day

[babagail-kaye]

Really enjoyed your report, hope you get back soon

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by 0511308

Really enjoyed your report, hope you get back soon

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Thank you.

We certainly wish we were going back soon.

[madhatter3]

Yet again another great day.

[hross42877]

Another great read!

[lauz]

Mmmmmm, funnel cake!